Digital Sculptor, Writer, Husband and Father, Union Millwright, Former Marine, All In No Particular Order

Friday, November 27, 2015

Critical Mass Games Arc Fleet Walker Assembly Guide

I make a lot of parts for my clients.

So many, in fact, that it is easy to confuse the end user with the flood of mecha goodness.

So, here's the first in a series of posts to show how to assemble the mecha I make for Critical Mass Games, starting with the Arc Fleet Walker and its many variants.

Here are some of the basic parts, and a legend to explain the colours (hey, it's a UK company). Gray for hull, Green is for parts that are unique to that particular model (and won't generally interchange with other mecha), Light Blue is for parts like shoulder and weapons that use the CMG Accessory Peg, Red is for parts that mount using the 1/8" ball and socket system, Gold is for weapons that can mount on both peg and ball/socket connections, and Magenta is for backpacks.

The Hydra starts with the same basic build as the Scout Walker. A pair of "wing" shoulder hardpoints mount to the sides of the hull. These have 1/8" ball sockets on their undersides.

A pair of Twin Autocannons mount to these sockets via a 1/8" ball mount. This gives you some elevation and traverse in the final pose, as well as modularity, since this is a common mounting point among many builds I've done for CMG (and Rebel, incidentally).

Furyan and Valkyrie models start with the basic Scout Walker build, but with the addition of new booster parts.

A large anti-gravity pod hooks on to the back deck of the Walker's main hull. A pair of jump jets slide into recesses on the lower rear of the main hull. These parts are unique to the Arc Fleet, and I wanted to tie their design to the same a-grav units under Arc Fleet tanks and APCs.

Here's your Advance parts on the basic hull.

Add a pair of wing shoulder mounts, so you can add new cannons.

You have your choice, when purchasing, of the Furyan or Valkyrie models.

This Arc Fleet Advance variant, nicknamed "Don't-Let-First-Sergeant-Catch-You-With-Those-Unauthorized-Mods," sports a Mecha Energy Cannon, a nasty Buzz Saw, and an accessory suppressive weapon from the Bolt-On Arm Weapons pack,which fit in the hinge joints and accessory sockets of many parts, particularly the fire support backpacks and close combat weapons.